One hump or two? Camel safari in the Thar Desert

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After our long wait in the Johdpur train station we were finally ready to board the overnight train to Jaisalmer, a fortressed town in the middle of the Thar Desert not too far from the border with Pakistan. We settled quickly into the familiar routine of getting comfortable on the high bunk beds. Getting out of sleeping bags and ensuring that all our our luggage was safely stowed under our heads or beneath our beds so it could not disappear whilst we slept. These overnight train rides can be at worst an absolute nightmare so I was pleased to arrive in the very early hours of the morning in our destination having slept for some of the way. We were however still very tired, groggy and grumpy when we arrived and were very glad that the hotel owner was there to collect us so we did not have to contend with dodgy rickshaw drivers or hustling hoteliers. We rolled into bed for a few hours kip and a long awaited shower before enjoying another breakfast on the roof top terrace - yummy omelet and banana lassi with a great view.

After breakfast we wandered slowly around the narrow laneways of the fort, which is a living, breathing town that people still live in, trying to wake up and summons some energy for the day. We visited the fort palace accompanied by another great audio guide which taught us about the history, religion and customs of the day. There were fantastic views of the old city and out towards a distant lake and the huge rows of twirling wind towers which provide electricity to power the lights at the nearby border between India and Pakistan - the very concept of a fence separating two countries is a very foreign concept when you come from an island like Australia! In the afternoon we visited a really interesting haveli in the old town which included a guided tour. It was a beautiful old building with intricately carved stonework and beautiful balconies. It was six stories high but felt a lot higher due to the steep, narrow staircases and the tiny room perched precariously at the top. Most amazing was the fact that the building was made without water, and instead of mortar the bricks interlocked together in intricate patterns or were nailed together with metal staples. A very clever and necessary building technique when you are building in the middle of a desert. There were even some beautiful decorative features such as carved lotus flower that were either screwed into the building or locked in bayonet style. The haveli belonged to a former prime minister and the top room, which was now in a bit of state of disrepair used to feature a system of carefully placed mosaic mirrors which would allow him to monitor what was happening in the city from every angle from the comfort of his carefully placed seat. That night we ate dinner sitting on cushions at an outdoor terrace looking up at the walls of the floodlit fort.

Less than three months ago we were in the depths of a cold dark Lappish winter, whizzing through the snowy winter wonderland on the back of a dog drawn sled. Now we found ourselves setting off on a three day safari on camel back through the Thar Desert in far western Rajasthan. As luck would have it we had so far avoided any major episodes of Delhi-belly this trip but this morning I woke with a terrible gurgling stomach and I general feeling of nausea. Not a good start when you are about to set off for three days in the desert. By mid morning we were on our camels plodding through the dry, dusty plains full of low scrubs and flowering cactus. I was nervous at first, when the giant camels moved from sitting to standing it made for quite a hair raising ride, but we soon settled into the slow, almost mesmerizing rhythm as the camels plodded slowly on their giant padded feet, rocking slowly from side to side. It was not long though before we started to feel the intense stretch of our inner thighs and our bottoms became tender from the constant bouncing motion. I was lucky not to be squashed by my furry friend as he knelt down and rolled over to one side with me still on his back as his uneven load unbalanced him. I thought of how my friend would feel if I turned up to be her bridesmaid in Adelaide in a few weeks time with a broken leg and was thankful that there was no harm done. We stopped for a long, leisurely lunch under some shady trees, but unfortunately my stomach was now feeling even more tender and I was not at all hungry despite the amazing meal that was being conjured up on a very basic camp fire. We learnt to make chapatti by pressing the ball of dough back and forth in the heel of our hands until it formed a flat, thin disk and I forced down what little I could for lunch. My guide took pity on me and despite my insistence that I was ok he decided that a massage was just what I needed. So there I was lying on a mattress in the desert being rubbed down with cooking oil and wondering what on earth I had agreed to. My stomach gurgling away as it was kneaded by my guides fingers and I hoped that maybe this strange experience would perhaps have some kind of magical curative effect. Forty five minutes later after being rubbed, poked, prodded, stepped on and walked upon our guide announced that if we did not have to leave he would have kept massaging me for longer and I felt very glad for the passing of time because I was not sure that I could take the pain for too much longer!

Back on the camels we set off towards our camp for the night on the Khuri sand dunes. We stopped at a tiny village for a cold drink, which a man sold to us from a tiny room in his house - no missed opportunity to make a buck from the tourists and you had to admire his entreprenurial skills. The scenery got more and more spectacular, and the camel riding more precarious, as we made our way into the sand dunes. I felt like we were in a scene from Lawrence of Arabia, as we strolled across the sand dunes with the sun sinking in the sky and our companions brightly coloured Indian-style clothing adding to the atmosphere. We reached camp and set off on foot to find a suitable spot to watch the sunset looking over the endless plains of the desert with the small set of sand dunes making a perfect foreground. We had a great time wandering across the dunes, taking photos in the golden evening light and trying to avoid the numerous dung beetles that seemed to make a beeline for our feet. Out of nowhere a tiny little puppy who looked a little worse for wear trotted across the dunes. He spotted us and stopped in his tracks not too sure how safe it was to come any closer and no amont of coaxing could bring him any closer. However he did hang around camp for the night hoping to be lucky enough to find some scraps of food.

Dinner was a non-event for me, the massage unfortunately not yet proving a miracle cure. I felt pretty lousy but could not help but still enjoy sitting in our plush desert café, complete with comfy cushions and backrests centered around an open fire. Best of all were the amazing plethora of bright, beautiful stars, satellites and planets lighting up the night sky and making me feel a tiny dot under the endless sky. Falling asleep under that sky and waking every now and then to be reminded of the amazing place we were sleeping was a really peaceful experience and we slept well in the crisp desert air, comfortable on mattresses and under thick blankets. Life does not get much more amazing that this!

We woke to sunrise over the dunes and the temperature quickly climbed. Our tiny furry friend was still hanging around anxiously and I finally managed to convince him to come over and drink some water from my hand. Once he got his confidence he drank and drank and drank until the guides told me to save the water for myself. The poor little thing was so cute and so uncared for. Dogs are seen as bad luck by many in India so they generally lead a very poor life. After a relaxed breakfast of sugary tea, sugary porridge, sugary jam and white bread we climbed back on our trusty steeds and left the dunes behind. A little sore in the saddle we plodded slowly across the sun baked plains quickly settling into the rhythm of the day. Unfortunately we were not too long on the camels before we stopped under another shady tree for a very long lunch break. I man dressed in traditional clothing and an orange turban appeared out of nowhere carrying a hessian back full of soft drinks for sale, again the industrious Indians never one to miss the chance for a sale. More sugary tea followed by pappodams, pakoras and handmade chapattis (I was honing my skills by now!) and curry. My stomach was still not up to much more than a taste. We lolled in the sun, talking to the dogs that followed us relentlessly through the heat of day running from shade to shade in hope of getting some left over food. Our guide insisted on giving me another massage - no vegetable oil this time but a lot of walking on my hamstrings - which was extremely painful and I nearly had to concede defeat. When the sun had lost some of its heat around 4.30pm we set off again through a few tiny villages and onto a wide dry sandy riverbed that was brimming with flowering cactus, trees and shrubs. The sun was about to set and there were a few wild peacocks strutting through the trees making their strange cat like meowing sound. The golden light illuminated the riverbed beautifully as the tinkling bells around the necks of goats ran out amongst the trees. We had another lovely night in the desert café, lying back on our cushions looking at the incredible stars and breathing in the fresh air, resolving to do more camping in England this year.

Another sugar laden breakfast in our cozy desert camp as the sun came up over the Rajasthani landscape. Our travelling companions were an unusual couple from Australia and America - he had spent six months meditating in Thailand to become a Buddhist monk and she was on a Holy Cow style spiritual journey of India (although she took her quest far more seriously than Holy Cow author Sarah MacDonald did!). They had been living in Myasore for three months and were now travelling across India. They had taken the names Shiva and Pavrati (the Hindu god of destruction and his wife) and were dressed in Indian clothing. They were interesting companions to have on such a trip and we would watch as they practiced yoga as the sun went down and meditated for an hour as it rose. After the camel safari they were off to take part in a thirteen day silent meditation retreat. Each to their own I guess.

Our last day on the camels and by now we had started to feel quite comfortable on plodding along on camel back. My trusty steed was called Johnny Be Good and had won the Jaislamer Camel Festival camel race three times. Needless to say he was very well looked after and reveared. I was riding a champion! Luckily for me he was a lot more sedate on an every day basis, and Andrew's camel was so laid back that he had to coax him a lot just to move at all. It was baking hot and we stopped under a shady tree again after a few hours of riding for another long lunch. It did seem to be a bit of a waste of time sitting around for such long periods but it was nice to totally relax, make some chapattis and have a bit of a chat. And I guess that is what you do in the desert when it it too hot to be out in the blazing sun. Our guides cooked another delicious and huge Indian feast, which I was just about feeling up to enjoying (it was now Andrew’s turn to deal with a dodgy stomach). The camels could smell home when we set off for our last ride and that feeling of being comfortable on camel back soon disappeared! The camels started to get a bit scatty - Shiva was almost bucked off from his, which in turn made Johnny Be Good get spooked and run through a prickled tree, scratching me in the process and whilst drinking from a reservoir Andrew's and my camels got their reigns tangled and it was all starting to go a bit pear shaped for a while there. Luckily we all escaped without any major incidents and before we knew it we were leaving behind our trusty canine companion who had followed us through the blazing sun for the entire three days in the hope of being rewarded with a morsel or two of food, the little villages and their uniquely clothed residents and the children who waved to us all along the route, and were in the car driving back to Jaisalmer.

The drive back towards the oasis-like town was a great chance to get a perspective of just how barren the desert is it and how striking the fort is, set up on a hill that rises out of nowhere. I had a whole new perspective on the town. Earlier in the day we had run out of mineral water and our guides had kindly boiled us some drinking water but the smoky taste was so horrible that none of us had touched more than a few sips all day. By the time we got back to town we were all very dehydrated and gulped down copious quantities of water and sparkling apple juice before enjoying a well deserved (although pretty much cold) shower. The sky was cloudy but we decided to go to sunset point to enjoy the view of Jaisalmer and the surrounding desert and we were very glad we did. We wandered through the narrow backstreets of the town where the locals live and got the chance for a glance into their everyday lives - groups of sari-clad girls sang and played hand games, people visited the tiny temples, men chatted in the streets and tiny children played on their verandahs. The steep road leading up to the lookout was full of slums, complete with filthy but helpful children and the views of the amazing, imposing, serene fort, jutting skywards on top of a hill that rose sharply from the surrounding endless plains of the desert were spectacular. The sandstone of the fort and town glowed a beautiful golden yellow in the evening sun. As we sat in the warm night air day turned into night and the lights came on to illuminate the fort like some masterpiece in an art gallery. After going in search of a recommended German bakery for dinner (our tender stomachs really wanted some plain non-indian food) and finding that it had packed up and gone north to follow the tourists for the off season we ended up at a lovely rooftop restaurant with a view of the fort and some great local musicians playing traditional instruments. Jaisalmer really turns on the charm at night.

After a terrible sleep alternating between being too hot or being kept awake by the supersonic fan, and being eaten alive by mosquitos we woke feeling very flat and fed up this morning. The night before we had bumped into our camel driver in town who had told us to meet him at 10am so he could show as the sights of Jaislamer. His English was limited, we knew where all the sights were and we just wanted to take the day at our own pace but he was a nice man and we felt too guilty to say no. First up we visited a Jain temple with lovely intricate carvings before our ‘guide’ took us down to the local lake where we hired a kitsch giant pale blue swan paddle boat that we toured the lake in for half and hour. There was a group of young Indian men there so of course Andrew had the obligatory conversation with them about cricket and who was going to win the world cup. Next we visited the largest of the towns havelis which towered over a narrow lane with a tiny courtyard opposite from which to view the awesome, intricate stone carving that covers the entire outside of the building. After giving our guide a small ‘donation’ we spent the rest of the afternoon people watching and enjoying a long lunch in a leafy garden setting on the outskirts of the city, passing time until it was time to farewell the lovely Jaisalmer and head onto Pushkar on an overnight bus.

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Comments

[mum]

camels
What fun. Saturday I got on a camel at Partridge House Glenelg at the Palindrome festival for a very sedate ride around the grounds. Decided it was time for a new experience at 66. Glad to read more of your adventures. Love Mum and Dad M.